Buying and selling real estate, particularly when it comes to family homes, is much more than just a financial transaction: it’s an important life event. As a result, the modern public expects more than simple deal brokerage from their real estate agents – they want a partner to guide them through the full experience. This, says Wayne Albutt, National Sales Manager for the Rawson Property Group, is a vital trend to acknowledge, particularly for national property franchisors.
“Our industry has undergone a lot of very positive changes over the last decade or two,” he says. “The regulations have become much stricter, the qualifications are more intense, technology and access to information is better, and service has drastically improved. That doesn’t mean we can rest on our laurels, however; our industry is constantly evolving, and we have to keep learning and growing if we’re going to stay ahead of the curve. A big part of this is facilitating the ongoing upskilling of real estate agents, and I think it’s up to national brands like Rawson to lead the way.”
Training has been a cornerstone of the Rawson Property Group’s philosophy since their inception more than 35 years ago. Today, their Training Academy receives almost 60 new students every month, including new agents and experienced ones polishing up their skills to join the Rawson brand.
The academy’s Proficiency Courses in Residential Sales, Residential Rentals, Commercial Sales and Commercial Rentals are designed to springboard agents into a successful and effective career as quickly as possible. This, says Albutt, is an important means to address one of the main barriers to entry for new agents, but haste should never be allowed to compromise the quality of the graduates.
“It’s tough for new agents getting started in our industry because of the gap between listing your first property and the day transfer goes through and you actually get paid,” he says. “With our training, we aim to enable our agents to start winning mandates as quickly as possible and to sell those properties well – and sell quickly – so they can get cashflow positive early on. That said, we also maintain extremely high standards with an 80% minimum pass mark to ensure every agent leaving our academy doors is equipped to serve their clients at the highest level.”
The Rawson Training Academy isn’t just focussed on creating new, top-quality agents, however. It also offers ongoing learning opportunities for existing agents within the brand.
“Our Rawson Achiever Program helps our current agents keep up-to-date on industry trends and improve their skills, and we have a similar program for our franchisees and their managers as well,” says Albutt. “We also facilitate and assist in legislative log book completion, NQF4 and NQF5 competency certification, and hold preparation workshops for the various PDE exams; and because we know how busy our agents and franchisees can be, we will be offering it all on a cutting-edge, flexible and accessible e-learning platform.”
The success of this approach to agent training can be seen in the positive growth of agents joining the Rawson brand, we received over 650 new employees last year alone and this year to date we have seen these numbers increase on an average of 60 new agents joining monthly. It’s also helping to attract a younger and more motivated team, bringing plenty of fresh energy to the property table.
“Our agents are, on average, more than ten years younger than the industry norm of 50 years old,” says Albutt. “This is a perfect fit with our brand strategy, which focusses on technology as a means of better serving our clients. We’re also seeing a lot of people with an existing tertiary qualification migrating into property with our help. That’s a good sign that our programs are of the highest calibre, and that people are recognising the career potential within our industry.”
While the Rawson Property Group actively strives to be at the forefront of modern real estate training and agent support, Albutt strongly believes that all franchisors have the same responsibility to make sure their agents are at the top of their game.
“It’s our job to drive our industry forward and make sure our agents are capable of giving clients the kind of professional service and support they need,” he says. “If we can keep making our industry better, it’s a win for everyone at the end of the day.”
